Episode 156: Tara King Era
Page 157 of 192

 

  Tag

Tara arrives at Steed's to find he'd received her gift of the antique clock. But he politely requests that she exchange it, for it has something of a skull-splitting chime.

  A.K.A.

 Pandora

 Pandora

 Pandora

 Pandora

  On the Radio

• Pandora

  Other Viewpoints

• Visitor Reviews
• The Young Avenger

PANDORA

Steed searches for a white rabbit
Tara wakes up as someone else*

Production completed: 17 January 1969
UK Premiere (London, Season 7): 30 April 1969
US Premiere (New York, Season 4): 10 March 1969

In the middle of an antique shop, Tara is grabbed and knocked out with chloroform. She awakens with a splitting headache in 1915, in a house full of people who call her Pandora. Seems a wealthy old man on his deathbed has agreed to reveal his hidden treasure to a pair of diabolical nephews who have brought the old man's dead bride back to life.

 IMHO

If I see Tara grabbed and knocked out with chloroform one more time, I'll... I'll... Well, you might imagine that I am quite tired of this little device... Anyway, this one could have been better if they'd fixed almost everything. Greatest liability: one of Linda Thorson's worst performances (ironic, as it is her favorite episode). It also suffered from a lack of production creativity—Tara was drugged the whole time, but where were the fish-eye lens perspective shots? It did have a neat Night Gallery ending, as well as a cute little homage to Cathy and Emma, but it wasn't enough to earn it another bowler, I'm afraid.

 Trivia

Screenwriter Jeremy Burnham was a guest actor who appeared in three episodes: "The Town of No Return," "The Fear Merchants" and "The Forget-Me-Knot."

Anthony Durrant writes: "It might interest you to know that the first person to play an invalid lord in a talking motion picture was a woman—Elsepeth Dudgeon in The Old Dark House. Apparently the director, James Whale, had offered the part to actor Dwight Frye, who refused to play the man absolutely, so actress Elsepeth Dudgeon was cast and billed under the name 'John Dudgeon.' Her invalid lord was the forerunner to the invalid lord featured in this Avengers episode."

BTW, both Emma Peel and Cathy Gale make cameo appearances in this episode—well, so to speak. Look for their names in the file room.

*This unofficial subtitle is by Yours Truly.

 Best Line

"I know she's indestructible, but it's further back than that." (Steed's comment on seeing Cathy Gale's file while searching for an agent's file from WW I)

 Essential Reading

PANDORA

Written by
Directed by

Brian Clemens
Robert Fuest

Full production credits

CAST

John Steed
Tara King
Rupert Lasindall
Henry Lasindall
Miss Faversham
Mother
Juniper
Hubert Pettigrew
Carter
Gregory Lasindall
Xavier Smith
Young Gregory

Patrick Macnee 007
Linda Thorson
Julian Glover # 007
James Cossins 007
Kathleen Byron
Patrick Newell #
John Laurie #
Anthony Roye
Geoffrey Whitehead #
Peter Madden # 007
Reginald Barrett
Raymond Burke

UNBILLED

Rhonda

Rhonda Parker

# DOPPELGANGERS

Julian Glover

Two's a Crowd
The Living Dead
Split!

John Laurie

Death of a Great Dane
Brief for Murder
A Funny Thing Happened...

Peter Madden

Room Without a View

Patrick Newell

The Town of No Return
Something Nasty in the Nursery

Geoffrey Whitehead

Trojan Horse
 

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This website Copyright © 1996-2017 David K. Smith. All Rights Reserved.
Page last modified: 5 May 2017.

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